PITTSBURGH _ Sweep.
A regular season of surprising their critics turned into a true display of Islanders' resiliency on Tuesday night as they clinically dispatched a Penguins team still only two years removed from back-to-back Stanley Cups.
They did it with a 3-1 win in Game 4 at PPG Paints Arena for their first playoff series sweep since the 1983 Stanley Cup Final. The Islanders finished the game two players short, playing half the game with five defensemen after Johnny Boychuk was hurt. And they were again able to overcome a one-goal deficit, this time the Penguins energizing the crowd of 18,810 with a goal in the opening minute.
But nothing rattled these Islanders _ who spent the regular season debunking the narrative they would be a lesser team without John Tavares _ as they stuck to their defensive structure and supported Robin Lehner by limiting rebounds.
The Islanders, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division to earn home-ice advantage in the playoffs for the first time since 1988, await the winner of the Capitals-Hurricanes' first-round series. The Capitals, who finished one point ahead of the Islanders in the division, lead that series, 2-1, with Game 4 at Carolina on Thursday night.
The Islanders' swift victory in their first playoff appearance since 2016 _ when they won their first series since 1993 _ means NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum is closed for hockey until next season. The Islanders will play home games in all subsequent rounds at Barclays Center.
Lehner, on equal footing with Jordan Eberle as the series MVP, made 32 saves while the Penguins' Matt Murray stopped 23 shots.
The Islanders didn't clinch this win, and thus the series, until Josh Bailey's empty-net goal with 37.7 seconds remaining.
The Islanders' on-ice celebration was happy, but low key. Valtteri Filppula was the first to hug Lehner and Scott Mayfield gave out high-fives.
But the Islanders still have work to do and now some injury questions.
The Islanders lost Boychuk after he took defenseman Marcus Pettersson's slap shot off his left leg at 6:59 of the second period. Boychuk hobbled his way through the rest of the shift before heading to the Islanders' room when the whistle finally blew at 7:40.
Cal Clutterbuck followed him to the room at 18:48, seconds after checking Bryan Rust.
And Eberle became the third Islander to leave the bench in the second period when he went down the tunnel immediately after blocking defenseman Kris Letang's shot with his foot in the final minute.
Eberle returned for the start of the third period. Clutterbuck rejoined his teammates on the bench briefly during the third period but did not take a shift before heading back to the room.
Lehner stopped all 13 shots he faced in the second period but was at his most active as he nearly got into a fight with fellow Swede Patric Hornqvist at 10:33.
Hornqvist was trying to establish position at the crease with Lehner trying to push him away, giving him some whacks on the leg with his goalie stick.
The stick swings and shoving quickly escalated, with Lehner indicating he was ready to fight before linesman Jonny Murray separated him from the scrum.
Lehner received a two-minute slashing penalty but Hornqvist received a double-minor for roughing. They spoke genially during the post-game handshakes.
And Lehner received a lifeline from Mayfield, who made a kick save in the crease on Jake Guentzel's potential power-play equalizer at 6:18 of the third period.
The Penguins scored the first goal for the third straight game as Guentzel took Sidney Crosby's feed and beat Lehner just 35 seconds into the game, marking Crosby's first point in the series.
But just as was the case as they won Sunday afternoon's Game 3, 4-1, Eberle and Brock Nelson gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead by the first intermission, overcoming an early 8-1 shot advantage for the Penguins.
On Sunday, that pair needed just 90 seconds to turn the Penguins' early lead into a 2-1 deficit. In Game 4, Eberle needed 94 seconds to tie it at 1 as he beat Murray to the far post from the left off Mathew Barzal's two-on-one feed against defenseman Brian Dumoulin at 2:09.
Nelson got to the crease to take Bailey's feed from behind the crease and make it 2-1 at 18:06 of the first period after Tom Kuhnhackl's forecheck won the puck from Pettersson.
